Why College Freshmen Are at Higher Risk of Sexual Assault

Going to college is super exciting. You're headed to the place where you'll likely meet your best friends, learn a ton of cool stuff, and have new experience after new experience. Even with all that excitement, though, there are some not-so-great things to be aware of.

Anywhere between 20 to 25% of college women are sexually assaulted during their time on campus, which is such a huge number. We've also seen how terribly many campuses deal with rape. While sexual assault can happen at any point in your life, research shows college freshmen and sophomores are particularly susceptible. These years, reports LiveScience, are known as the "red zone."

According to a study in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, more freshmen than any other group are victims of sexual assault in college. One of the reasons for this red zone, LiveScience notes, could be that freshman don't typically have close friends to watch their backs yet.

Of course, sexual assault is no one's fault but the rapist's, but having friends to look out for you is definitely a safety net. Your friends will typically keep track of where you are, and get you home safely if you need the assistance.

Instead of relying on close friends though, we should all be looking out for one another. If you're at a party and you see someone potentially in trouble, you can either intervene yourself, find their friends and let them know, or call campus police.

Of course, the best way to stop rape is to understand the concept of consent and teach people not to rape. While it's never a bad idea to take basic safety measures like keeping your drink close by or having a friend accompany you home if you're by yourself, there's no one tip or trick that will stop sexual assault. There is nothing that will make someone rape you other than their (very wrong) idea that rape is OK. And that's why we need to teach people that no one has a right to someone else's body.